Thursday, January 19, 2006
Web tools...
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Web tools.....hmmmm.... let me see.... Terrifying at first.... interesting once I got the hang of it. (Blogging could be addictive!) I've enjoyed blogging... read a few blogs outside of PPSE... Amazed at the variety (There's even a blog that has all sorts of knitting patterns!!!! ) ... and love it as a reflective tool. Brought back lots of memories.. the personal diaries that were part of my growing years... and also as a vehicle to express my thoughts to all and sundry (padho ya na padho... Mujhe yeh kehna hai!) Enjoyed the discussion board too. But it usually ended up in f2f (Thanks Suchi . for the new adition to my e-vocab) discussions with Mohua/Koshy. Maybe it works better when it is used by people who don't see each other during the course of the day. (the f2f discussions however were great fun!)
As educational tools- considering the group of kids I work with... continued participation could be a problem. Need to think in terms of modifying the method... Miles to go before it can be applied practically!!!!
Seriously however, the blogs are highly personal reflections and would probably very useful in a literature session- think of the posibilities...... students give their take on Shakespeare/keats or Eliot with gay abandon! But the matter would have to be something that they could relate to and be able to express. Since there is no one leading the discussion, you can never say where it would go! The other would be the quality of expression. Not all students may be comfortable putting their thoughts out there for everyone to see. However, I wonder whether it would be as suitable for science or math content. (Ideas anyone?)
The discussion board on the other hand, seems to me to be highly suitable for moderated discussions. The students have a point on which to focus on and can be led back if thoughts tend to stray. It would offer differring viewpoints on the same topic. Summing up of ideas, leading students on to new paths and offering feedback would be possible on a discussion board.
Though I have been commenting on blogs and discussion boards as if I were a professional,I must confess that a lot more of thought and perhaps training is required before I can actually use it as an educational tool.
Shuchi said...
Very well put, Raji! Just to comment on your use of blogs for education - perhaps school/class blogs could be put up on a specific topic that the teacher assigns (as opposed to being a free format thing). That might prevent them from going all over the place (if that is not a desirable outcome, i.e.)
3:56 AM
# posted by Raji Nair @ 6:30 AM 1 comments
Web tools.....hmmmm.... let me see.... Terrifying at first.... interesting once I got the hang of it. (Blogging could be addictive!) I've enjoyed blogging... read a few blogs outside of PPSE... Amazed at the variety (There's even a blog that has all sorts of knitting patterns!!!! ) ... and love it as a reflective tool. Brought back lots of memories.. the personal diaries that were part of my growing years... and also as a vehicle to express my thoughts to all and sundry (padho ya na padho... Mujhe yeh kehna hai!) Enjoyed the discussion board too. But it usually ended up in f2f (Thanks Suchi . for the new adition to my e-vocab) discussions with Mohua/Koshy. Maybe it works better when it is used by people who don't see each other during the course of the day. (the f2f discussions however were great fun!)
As educational tools- considering the group of kids I work with... continued participation could be a problem. Need to think in terms of modifying the method... Miles to go before it can be applied practically!!!!
Seriously however, the blogs are highly personal reflections and would probably very useful in a literature session- think of the posibilities...... students give their take on Shakespeare/keats or Eliot with gay abandon! But the matter would have to be something that they could relate to and be able to express. Since there is no one leading the discussion, you can never say where it would go! The other would be the quality of expression. Not all students may be comfortable putting their thoughts out there for everyone to see. However, I wonder whether it would be as suitable for science or math content. (Ideas anyone?)
The discussion board on the other hand, seems to me to be highly suitable for moderated discussions. The students have a point on which to focus on and can be led back if thoughts tend to stray. It would offer differring viewpoints on the same topic. Summing up of ideas, leading students on to new paths and offering feedback would be possible on a discussion board.
Though I have been commenting on blogs and discussion boards as if I were a professional,I must confess that a lot more of thought and perhaps training is required before I can actually use it as an educational tool.
Shuchi said...
Very well put, Raji! Just to comment on your use of blogs for education - perhaps school/class blogs could be put up on a specific topic that the teacher assigns (as opposed to being a free format thing). That might prevent them from going all over the place (if that is not a desirable outcome, i.e.)
3:56 AM
# posted by Raji Nair @ 6:30 AM 1 comments
# posted by Raji Nair @ 10:14 PM 
